China issued on Thursday its first-ever white paper presenting an overall picture of its foreign aid activities over the past few decades.

The white paper, titled China's Foreign Aid, says that while focusing on its own development, China has provided as much aid as possible to other developing countries with economic difficulties and fulfilled its international obligations.

The white paper, issued by the Information Office of the State Council, or China's Cabinet, introduces China's foreign aid policy and the financial resources that the aid has drawn upon in the past, as well as revealing China's cooperation in international aid activities.

It also provides information about the distribution and management of China's foreign aid.

China first began to provide foreign aid in 1950, when it provided material assistance to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Vietnam.

By the end of 2009, China had offered aid to 161 countries and more than 30 international and regional organizations, according to the white paper.

In detail, China provided 256.29 billion yuan (38.54 billion U.S.dollars) in aid to foreign countries, including 106.2 billion yuan in grants, 76.54 billion yuan in interest-free loans and 73.55 billion yuan in concessional loans.

The recipients of China's foreign aid are mostly low-income developing countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Oceania and Eastern Europe, with Asia and Africa accounting for 80 percent of the total figure, the white paper says.

The aid funds are mainly geared toward agriculture, industry, economic infrastructure, public facilities, education and medical and health care, the paper says.

As one of the first countries to develop clean energy sources, China has also helped other developing countries to better utilize resources to reduce their dependence on imported fuels, according to the white paper.

China's foreign aid expenditure is part of the state expenditure, under the unified management of the Ministry of Finance in its budgets and final accounts system, according to the white paper.

The Ministry of Commerce is the administrative department authorized by the State Council to oversee foreign aid, it says.

SERVING SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION

The white paper describes China's foreign aid activities as "South-South cooperation" and "mutual help between developing countries," as China is the world's largest developing country.

The paper gives several basic features of China's foreign aid policy.

One is that China has been unremitting in helping recipient countries build up their self-development capacity as practice has proven that a country's development depends largely on its own strength.

Another is that China imposes no political conditions as the country never uses foreign aid as a means to interfere in recipient countries' internal affairs or seek political privileges for itself.

China has been adhering to equality, mutual benefit and common development in foreign aid policy.

China remains realistic while "striving for the best as it provides foreign aid within the reach of its abilities in accordance with its national conditions," it says.

The white paper says that rapidly-developing South-South cooperation has become an effective and beneficial supplement to South-North co-operation.

In the white paper, China also pledges to further improve its foreign aid and calls for the international community to "strengthen cooperation and jointly rise to the challenges facing developing countries."

MEDICAL AID AND EMERGENCY RELIEF

Besides aid in finance and construction, China has sent medical teams to recipient countries and provides free medical devices and medicines to offer location-based or touring medical services in those countries, says the white paper.

By the end of 2009, China had sent over 21,000 medical workers to other countries and treated 260 million patients in those countries, it says.

These medical workers have also passed on their skills to local medical staff, helping to improve local medical and health services.

In 2009, 1,324 members of 60 Chinese medical teams provided medical services at 130 medical institutions in 57 developing countries, according to the white paper.

China has also taken "an active part in emergency relief operations" in foreign countries, and had established a response mechanism for emergency humanitarian relief and aid in foreign countries in 2004, the white paper says.

In the past five years, the Chinese government has, on nearly 200 occasions, provided emergency aid to foreign countries, including helping Ecuador to fight dengue fever and Mexico to fight influenza A (H1N1).